Half of NISA Users Profit! A Beginner’s Guide to Opening an Account

One year since the new NISA began, did new investors make a profit!?

One year since the launch of the new NISA. According to Oricon Customer Satisfaction®, which conducts independent satisfaction surveys exclusively for actual service users, data from the New NISA Usage Survey reveals that 50.0% of the 4,978 respondents using online securities platforms saw gains in their Tsumi-tate Investment accounts.

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Choosing the wrong NISA account provider can significantly limit your investment options.

Asset management, the new NISA, investment trusts. Hearing financial terms doesn’t ring a bell. As a freelance writer, I always felt that investment has nothing to do with me.

Having reached my 40s without any connection to NISA or iDeCo (individual-type defined contribution pension), I spoke with a financial expert for “The Investment Journey of a Latecomer 40s Writer: #1” and realized, albeit late, the necessity of investing.

In an era of ongoing inflation, wisely growing assets and preparing for retirement without relying solely on national pensions is crucial for a secure future. Though I started late, I finally began to see investment as a personal matter.

However, when I tried to start NISA, I had no idea where to begin. I read beginner’s guides and online articles, but the technical jargon was too complicated to grasp. I feared that starting with shallow knowledge would lead to failure.

Many beginners may be in the same boat—searching on YouTube, the internet, or social media, only to get confused and delay their investment journey. So, I asked financial planner Kenji Matsuoka to explain how to start NISA in an easy-to-understand way.

“To start NISA, you first need to open a NISA account. This is a dedicated account separate from your regular or fixed deposit accounts, specifically for using NISA. You can apply for and open a NISA account at securities companies, banks, post offices, and credit unions.”

For beginners with no investment knowledge, choosing where to open an account can be overwhelming from the start. In fact, this decision is one of the most critical points when starting NISA.

“When investing through NISA, you select stocks (products), but the financial institution where you open your account determines the number of options and the fees. For example, Company A may offer 200 investment options, while Bank B only has 20. This limits choices, meaning the product you want might be available at Company A but not at Bank B.”

Is Consulting a Bank a Bad Idea? You Might Be Recommended Overpriced Stocks

As a beginner, the author had little knowledge of investment products when opening a NISA account. They didn’t even know what would be considered a large or small lineup of available options. It seemed easier to consult an expert in person, but financial planner Kenji Matsuoka strongly advised against visiting banks for advice.

“If you go to a bank or brokerage firm simply because you don’t understand, they will likely steer you toward opening an account with them. You might end up investing in expensive products with high transaction fees without fully understanding the lineup of available options. While discussing investments in person may feel reassuring, I do not recommend relying on bank consultations.”

 

Banks aggressively promote their NISA services with celebrity-endorsed TV commercials, campaign posters, and in-branch advertisements. Since people are already familiar with their local bank, it’s easy to assume that consulting a professional would be the best option—but this is a common pitfall for beginners.

Even if you later gain investment knowledge and want to buy specific stocks or funds, your bank may not even offer them. There’s another critical reason why choosing the right account provider from the start is so important.

“You can only have one NISA account at a time. You cannot open one at A Securities and another at B Bank to invest separately. While you can close your first account and open a new one elsewhere, the process is cumbersome and complicates account management. That’s why selecting the right financial institution from the beginning is crucial.”

Recommendation: Online securities with a wide selection of products, the lowest fees, and point redemption

So, where is the best place to open a NISA account? Mr. Matsuoka recommends online securities, where you can open an account without having to consult with a bank or securities company. These are securities companies that conduct securities transactions such as buying and selling of stocks online. The major ones include SBI Securities, Rakuten Securities, au Kabu.com Securities, Matsui Securities, and Monex, Inc.

“Among major online securities firms, the most widely used are “SBI Securities” and “Rakuten Securities.” For beginners starting NISA, these two can be considered the top choices. Both offer a wide selection of investment products and have the lowest trading fees.

Another major advantage is that you can earn points when paying with a linked credit card. For example, if you invest ¥50,000 per month and receive a 0.5% point rebate, you will earn an additional ¥250 each month. The accumulated points can also be reinvested.”

To receive point redemption by credit card, SBI Securities is linked with Sumitomo Mitsui Card, so it is necessary to apply for Sumitomo Mitsui Card. Rakuten Securities is linked to Rakuten Card.

If you already have a credit card with either Sumitomo Mitsui or Rakuten, or a bank account with either of them, it is easy to open a NISA account at a securities company by using it. It is also easy to accumulate points.

As a housewife, the author often buys daily necessities, cosmetics, and groceries online. Therefore, after considering the benefits of using a Rakuten Card and earning Rakuten Points, she decided to open an account at Rakuten Securities.

Incidentally, Sumitomo Mitsui Card offers up to 7% points at participating convenience stores and restaurants such as Seven-Eleven and McDonald’s.

In addition, “Monex, Inc.” is recommended for those whose cell phone carrier is Docomo, as points are rewarded when paying with a d-card. The 1.1% point redemption rate for monthly savings of up to 50,000 yen is one of the highest among credit cards with no annual fee.

Thus, it is also important to select online securities by considering the stores you often use and the banks you already have an account with.

No one wants to waste even a single yen of the money they and their family have earned from their work. That is why opening a NISA account is an important first step to avoid making mistakes in asset management. It is important to choose the most profitable online securities without haste, and to gather information and make your own decision rather than relying on others.

In the next issue, I will report in detail on my first NISA account opening with Rakuten Securities.

Kenji Matsuoka is a money writer, financial planner, and market analyst at a securities company before setting up his own business in 1996. He writes articles on finance and asset management mainly for business and economic magazines. Author of “A Textbook for the First Year of Robo-Advisor Investing” and “Understanding with Rich Illustrations! Cashless Payments: The Book That Will Definitely Benefit You.

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